Queen of England honors Marblehead's Andrew Oliver

Thursday

Jul 17, 2014 at 12:01 AMJul 17, 2014 at 7:53 AM

By Vicki Staveacremarblehead@wickedlocal.com

When Andrew Oliver attended the black-tie gala dinner at the Kernwood Country Club in April 2012 to celebrate Lifebridge and commemorate his years serving as the president of the homelessness nonprofit's board, he had no inkling that this local recognition would result in his nomination as an Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June this year.British-born Oliver, who has been a Marblehead resident since 1993, spent most of his career as an investment banker, working in London, Singapore and the U.S. He became involved in Lifebridge, which was then known as the Salem Mission, in 2002.One of the many guests at the Kernwood dinner was another British born-resident of Marblehead, Paul Hare. A career diplomat, Hare had spent 30 years with the Foreign Office, retiring in 2008. Hare served in Brussels, Portugal, New York, Venezuela and finally as ambassador to Cuba from 2001 to 2004. Hare's family had done meal duty at Lifebridge and his son Andrew had done an internship there, so he was familiar with the operation and aware of Oliver's significant contributions.Attending the Kernwood event, it occurred to Hare how nice it would be for Oliver to be recognized in his native land for what he had achieved.“I found it intriguing that a British investment banker would dedicate so much time and effort to what is such an intractable problem for U.S. cities,” Hare said. “So I thought, ‘Let's give it a go' and propose him for a U.K. honor, to recognize the nature of his commitment and single-mindedness.”The Member of the British Empire is one of the many U.K. honors that recognize exceptional achievement or service by an individual. They are announced twice a year, at the New Year and on June 14, the date of the queen's birthday. Once the honors have been officially announced, the recipients are presented with their medals by the queen or other members of the royal family at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.Oliver's award citation was published in the official list available on the U.K. national government website (gov.uk/honours/honours-lists). It reads: “Andrew John OLIVER, lately chairman of the Board, Lifebridge, Salem, Massachusetts, USA for services to homelessness in the USA.”The tradition of bestowing honors to recognize service has been a long-standing tradition of the U.K. monarchy, one of particular import when a new sovereign took the throne and needed to reward the service of his or her supporters with gifts of land or money. For example, after the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conqueror granted land to his allies for continuing loyalty and military service. Over time, gifts of land or money have been replaced by the awarding of knighthoods, insignia of orders of chivalry, such as the MBE and OBE, and other honors with “chains of honour” or medals being given to recipients.Hare started the process by completing a nomination form and then soliciting letters of support, initially from the people who spoke at the Kernwood event. This included Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, Salem State University President Patricia Maguire Meservey and the man often referred to by the media as the “national homelessness policy czar,” Philip Mangano.Mangano was appointed by President George W. Bush to revivify and lead the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Mangano convened the Cabinet and other federal department executives in shaping national policy, which resulted in the first documented decrease in homelessness in a half century. He served in the same capacity during the first 100 days of the Obama Administration.Oliver knew nothing whatsoever about the process until he received a call in May this year from the U.K. consul general in Boston, Susie Kitchens, whom he had met briefly at the Consulate earlier in the year. Kitchens was calling from London on her cellphone, and the line was not very clear.“Initially, I thought she said would I like to accept an MBA, which is something I have always wanted,” Oliver said. “But then the penny dropped, and I realized she was talking about an MBE. Of course, I said I would be delighted!”Kitchens said, “Making a phone call to a new honoree is a wonderful perk of the job, and Andrew sounded thrilled! While I do not know him well, I heard inspiring reports of his tireless work to help the underprivileged; and when we met, I was pleased to discover our shared interest in cricket.”Oliver was then sworn to secrecy, as the announcement was embargoed until 10.30 p.m. British Standard Time (5:30 p.m. in Marblehead) on Friday, June 13, after which he was able to celebrate with a few friends at his house in Marblehead. The next step will be for him to go to Buckingham Palace in the fall for an “investiture ceremony,” when the award will be presented."How fortunate we are here in the States to have received such a valued export from the ‘mother country' as Andrew Oliver,” Mangano said after the award was announced. “With the recent MBE recognition, he is now acknowledged on both sides of the Atlantic for his inestimable contributions to the poorest of the poor. As I said at the event at Kernwood, rarely in my years in Washington, heading up the federal effort to reduce and end homelessness, did I have opportunity to work with a person of such deep personal commitment and such keen business acumen.”“Andrew's work at Lifebridge complemented the national conversation with a value-added approach oriented to innovation and results. For that contribution he is indeed a worthy recipient of this latest honor and the gratitude of his North Shore neighbors, whether in Marblehead or ‘across the pond'!"Oliver served as president of the board of Lifebridge for nine years, leading a dramatic transformation of the city's homeless shelter. He took over in 2002 and was at the helm in 2004 when the former Crombie Street Shelter acquired the closed St. Mary's Italian Church complex on Margin Street in Salem.The nonprofit organization, which was later re-branded as Lifebridge, turned the former youth center into a large shelter and converted two small apartment buildings into 22 studio apartments for the homeless, launching a campaign to "end homelessness" in the city and region. During his tenure as board president, Oliver launched a major capital campaign, raising more than $4 million in public and private funds for the reconstruction of the youth center and apartment buildings.At the time of his resignation, Oliver explained that one of the greatest achievements of Lifebridge was to move people from the shelter into housing.“I think we've made a contribution to the public debate and the understanding that homelessness is a solvable issue,” he said. “To talk about ending homelessness is feasible because we've demonstrated we have a model that works, but the achievements are the achievements of the organization.”The Lifebridge website continues to pay tribute Oliver's vision and commitment. Achievements under his leadership include the purchase of the former St. Mary's parish, the private fundraising that made it possible, the 22 units of low-income housing, a nationally recognized model program for moving people out of homelessness and more.Although he resigned as president, Oliver still serves on the board as president emeritus He and his wife, Carla, continue to live in Marblehead and their daughter, Sacha, has just graduated from Smith College. When Oliver resigned as president, the Lifebridge facility at Margin Street in Salem was renamed the “Andrew and Carla Oliver Centre” — spelled in the British style, of course — a harbinger, perhaps, of the queen's honor that has now followed.